New Hospital Collaboration To Expand Pediatric Care

By News 10&nbsp|&nbsp

Posted: Wed 1:16 PM, Dec 19, 2012&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Wed 1:17 PM, Dec 19, 2012

A new affiliation between Sparrow Children’s Center and the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital will provide children and families in the mid‐Michigan area with expanded pediatric specialty care close to home. Membership in the Mott Children’s Hospital Network will strengthen and expand an existing longstanding relationship between the two organizations.

For years, Mott Children’s Hospital, the most comprehensive children’s hospital in Michigan, has provided highly specialized care, such as organ transplants, for Sparrow Children’s Center Patients. Mott shares Sparrow’s commitment to providing pediatric subspecialty care locally and has the ability to readily assist Sparrow in ensuring a healthy future for our region’s youngest Patients.

Currently Mott Children’s Hospital pediatric surgeons perform procedures at Sparrow Children’s Center and a Mott pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Monica Goble, has based her practice in Lansing.“Our organizations are working together to provide expanded care at the Sparrow Children’s Center. Our physicians will have access to the latest Mott expertise and clinical care resources, and willcollaborate with Mott physicians so that Patients only travel outside the region when necessary,” said Dennis Swan, Sparrow President and CEO.

Hospital officials hope the collaboration will allow physicians to find new ways to detect and treat disease, allow for development of common resources and joint efforts on pediatric care initiatives.“Our affiliation provides Patients direct access to the specialized pediatric care of C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, but allows local care to remain local,” says Chris Dickinson, M.D., interim executivedirector of C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.

Additional advantages include making clinical research trials more readily available in the community and the ability to jointly recruit new pediatric faculty. “We look forward to working with Sparrow and UM faculty to recruit new physicians to work in Lansing,” Dickinson said.

Sparrow also will have enhanced pediatric and neonatal intensive care transport capabilities when the University of Michigan Survival Flight takes over as Sparrow’s air medical transport service on Jan. 1.The move gives Sparrow access to the most technologically advanced aircraft in the state and medically supervised flights with physicians who are residents at University of Michigan. Survival Flight maintains two helicopters 24 hours per day/seven days per week with a third helicopter available for back up.

“This is about what is best for kids. We are truly excited about the possibilities this can offer and are eager to further build this affiliation,” says Dickinson. According to Swan, “Forming closer relationships, collaborating, and sharing information tools withleading medical providers, like this affiliation with Mott, is another step in Sparrow’s mission to improve healthcare of the people in our communities by providing quality, compassionate care to everyone, every time.”

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